studentlinc

How Do I Recognize Influencers Around Me?

"But no one is listening to me and I'm in charge?!!?"

Don't be a whiner.  The truth is you don't have to be the main influencer on your campus or in your organization, IF, you know who the influencers are and can exert some influence over them.

So look around, you can recognize the influencers by noticing that...

• People gravitate toward them.


• People listen to and follow their opinions/advice.


• They have a track record for getting things done.


• They have a rapport with different groups of people.


• They tend to have a clear idea of where they’re headed / what they want to accomplish.


• They are ordinary people producing extra-ordinary results.


• They are usually a person who lifts others up more than themselves (humility).

But How Do I Gain Influence?

Some of my recent posts have focused on the nature of leadership as influence.  Once a student leader knows that this is true, the next question typically out of their mouth is: But how do I gain influence with others?

Here's seven things that a student leader can do to invest in their influence capability with others:

• Listen to people.
  People feel cared for and important when others listen to them.  At a deeper level, a person will trust a leader who has taken the time to listen to them and really heard what they have to say.  Don't jump right into trying to solve people's problems.  Listen to them, and you may discover that they weren't looking to you as a problem solver but as a sounding board.


• Add value to them.
  Recognize the potential in people.  Find ways to enhance their growth.  Bring them or point them toward resources that will be meaningful to them in their journey.  Find ways to affirm their strengths.


• Help them succeed.
  Nothing motivates a person more than being on a winning team.  Even if the victory is small, it can still go a long way in people investing in your leadership.  If you help someone else win, then you win as well.


• Be honest with them.
  Sometimes leaders feel like they have to protect people from the truth.  But an honest answer, even when painful, will show the people you work with that you're willing to shoot straight with them.  While there are rare occasions that call for you to be silent on an issue, it's important to be as up front as possible with people.


• Work to connect with them.
  Connecting does take work.  A leader can be on a "Hi, how ya doin?" level of relationship with everybody and end up knowing nobody.  Connecting means that you have breakthrough moments where the relationship deepens.  You find mutual likes and dislikes, develop camaraderie, and establish deeper friendships.


• Do your job well.
  Rudolph Guiliani's stock went through the roof with the people of New York after September 11, 2001.  That's because he did his job as Mayor in a tremendous fashion.  Leadership ability is proven during times of crisis.  If you help the people make it through those difficult times, you will develop greater influence over them.


• Be consistent.
  People tend to distrust those who are emotionally, all over the charts.  If you are cool and collected one day and erratic and unsympathetic the next, people will begin to wonder which leader they are following at any given moment.  Decisions, schedule, personality are all areas that can become patterns over time.  If you change these things, communicate honestly and make sure that the change is for the better.

What's Unique About A Student Leader?

Being a student leader is a special privilege and opportunity.  It is unique in that you were probably selected or elected by your peers or those in administrative positions in your school or organization.  That means that someone has placed a high trust upon who you are and in your abilities to do the tasks that the job requires. 

Plus, the leadership laboratory that lies ahead will provide a lot of chances for you to flex and grow your leadership skills.  Student leadership is a great way to develop yourself as a leader.   There are a number of things that set this experience apart from other leadership opportunities.

• Most student leader positions are for one year.
  You have a set period of time in which you will serve in this capacity.  You must be realistic about what can and can'’t be accomplished.  It is important to understand how to get the most out of the next twelve months.


• Most student leader positions carry on the work that others have started.
  You will, more than likely, be stepping into a position that someone else has held previous to you.  There will be someone else who will take your place when it is time to step down.  What are the factors that will make this chapter of your organization's story - your chapter - significant?


• Most student leader positions work within a system that is already in place.
  When you signed on to be a student leader, you were aware of what it is you would be working toward.  There are some things that you must learn now about how your organization works and what you need to do in order to be as effective as possible.


• Most student leader positions are under the guidance of an advisor.
  This is why I like to use the phrase “student leader.”  Think of your position as a laboratory to hone your skills and develop your strengths as a leader.  Most student leader positions have an advisor that they can bounce things off of and receive valuable feedback.

100 Ways To Help Student Leaders Succeed [#3]

Moving From Position To Power The common myth in leadership is that if one simply holds a position of leadership then one must be a leader.  But the truth is, just because a student is selected or elected to a position does not necessarily mean he or she is a leader. 

I love the leadership proverb that says, “He or she who thinketh that they leadeth, and yet hath no one following them, is simply going for a walk.”  In order to lead, one must move from a positional definition of leadership to a powerful definition of leadership.  Let me explain what that means.

First, let me define what I mean by powerful.  There are many who want to be in charge.  But I am not speaking of power in the sense of dictating or control.  I believe the greatest power comes from the ability to positively influence people, to help them become better than they were before your paths crossed, and to provide opportunities and guidance that will empower them to reach their potential.  These are the kinds of things that make leadership powerful.

Are there tasks that must be done?  Definitely.  Are there responsibilities that a student leader must take care of because of the position that they hold?  Of course.  Does that make one a student leader?  Not necessarily.  Students can be effective at doing the work that their position demands and still never step into the realm of leadership because their attention was on the tasks and not on people.

That is why leadership positions should be considered a first step.  Most students discover their leadership strengths because they are placed into a position where they can develop their leadership skills.  But unless they move past accomplishing the tasks of a position they will never understand the heart of what it means to lead.
 
Moving from positional to powerful leadership means a change in emphasis.  Powerful leadership puts the emphasis on how a person engages and works with people over how a person accomplishes a task.  Note that tasks are important.  But the moment a student begins to connect with others in the process, he or she begins to move the emphasis of their leadership from accomplishing tasks to developing people. 

That is the key to powerful leadership.  The student leader moves beyond the tasks of his or her job description and starts to concentrate on the power to influence people.  Roger Staub II writes, “Effective leaders remember and act upon the fact that all work is done ultimately by people, with people, through people, and for people.  Leaders function by creating alignment around tasks, inspiring and relating to people.”

Touching All Four - The EBook is Here!

I'm pretty excited about the release of my new ebook, Touching All Four [pdf/196kb].

This book moves beyond simply offering a definition of leadership and, using baseball as a metaphor, gives some practical things that a leader needs to be concerned with each day.

Some may find this more like a pamphlet than a book (24 pages with a big font), but who's got time to read anyway.

Take a look and let me know what you think.  It's free while supplies last (not sure how much my website let's people download?).

What Would You Put On Your Tombstone?

I don't know how morbid this is but I thought it was worth a look. Dog Crap has created a Tombstone Generator.

You can put whatever you like on your tombstone.

This serves as a great illustration of what you would want to be remembered for. You get five lines and only about 20 characters on each line. So, whatever you put, it has to be short and sweet.

If someone had to sum up your life in only a few words, what would you want them to say? What do you think they would say?

Since you're reading this, chances are you still have time to change if you don't like the answers to these questions.

Thanks to Seth Godin for the link.

100 Ways To Help Student Leaders Succeed [#2]

Emphasize Influence Over Position Let's begin with a scenario. 

Two students, Chad and Marcie are planning an event for this Friday night.  Chad is the school’s social events coordinator.  It is his responsibility to set up fun events for the students to participate in.  Marcie is someone who just wants to throw a party but also happens to be a person that most of the students respect, admire, and like to hang out with.  Come Friday night, most of the student body goes to Marcie’s party rather than Chad’s school event.  What happened?

While there are many factors that could have caused this to happen, the one that stands out the most is simply a matter of influence.  What this simple illustration helps us to think about is the importance that influence plays within the role of student leadership. 

It wasn’t enough that Chad was in a position of leadership.  Chad didn’t have the influence that Marcie had.  And in most cases like this, influence is more powerful than position.  That is why influence is a student leader’s most cherished asset.  When it comes to student leadership, position doesn’t really have that much lasting power on what others think about you.  Position may get you in the door, but it is influence that keeps you around and makes your leadership effective.

When a student leader understands that leadership is really about the ability to influence people, that person begins to grow in the right direction in his or her leadership.  Once a student leader can move beyond their name tag, they can begin to increase their effectiveness. 

It is also very important to point out that a student leader doesn’t necessarily have to be the one who has the influence in order to make things happen.  He or she should immediately identify those people within their organization who have influence over others and work through them to accomplish what’s best for the organization and the people within it. 

Going back to our illustration, one of the ways that Chad could dramatically increase his effectiveness as a student leader would be to bring Marcie on board in planning the events.  Instead of trying to fight against the influence that Marcie has with students, Chad could tap into it for the benefit of all.  In this way, Chad dramatically increases his influence because he is now working with someone who has influence over others.  What Chad trades by bringing Marcie on is, perhaps, being the center of attention.  But what Chad gains is effectiveness and credibility as a student leader.

100 Ways To Help Student Leaders Succeed [#1]

Nothing Beats A Good Metaphor Your student leaders may have a lot of energy, but they probably don't have a lot of experience.  With that in mind, the best way to talk to them about the best way to do something that they've never done before is by painting a picture for them of what that looks like.  Helping them to understand that success in this new territory, even though it's unfamiliar to them, looks like something else (something that they are familiar with).  The mind latches on to images a lot quicker than it does words.

For example, if I were to ask you to think about Paris, what comes to mind?

9 out of 10 times, the first thing that pops into people's heads is the Eiffel Tower (were you in that crowd?).  The reason is that each of us has some idea about what Paris is like and it begins with a picture.  The most common picture of Paris being the Eiffel Tower. (I believe I first heard this example from The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes & Posner)  Nobody tends to initially think of Paris in terms of the number of people who live there, the economic or political features, or even the number of baguettes consumed on an annual basis (unless your student is the child of a French baguette baker).

So in guiding and leading student leaders, the best way to convey your message is through the use of metaphors - pictures that show what you mean.  Save the facts and figures for later.

You Can't Do Anything You Put Your Mind To...Unless

I remember, as a kid, trying to jump off the roof of my house while holding on to the open end of a large Hefty trash bag. In my mind's eye, I could see myself floating down to the ground, like a paratrooper sneaking behind enemy lines.

Unfortunately, what I had imagined and what actually took place (do you know that an ankle can grow to three times it's normal size when swollen?!?) were two different things.

What I had experienced was a failed attempt at reaching my desired outcome. There was something that I needed to do differently if I wanted to be able to jump off the house and land without twisting my other ankle.

Growing up, there were always adults that would encourage me by using the phrase, "You can do anything you put your mind to." Unfortunately, there are always going to be things that we can't do, no matter how much mental energy we put into it. For example...

1. I can't dunk.
2. Shaq can't be a successful professional horse jockey.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not against the power of positive thinking. I'm actually for it when it's used in conjunction with realistic thinking. I'm also aware that this phrase is used by coaches around the world in an effort to motivate their masses. There is something to be said for mind over matter (unfortunately, I can't get my matter up high enough to throw down a basketball, no matter how much my mind sees it happen).

The truth is, I can't do "anything" unless...I change the conditions.
• I can't dunk, but I can if I'm dunking on an 8 foot rim.
• Shaq can't be a horse jockey, but he can if he gets a big enough horse and he races in a 7 foot and over horse racing league.

In this way, I've tweaked the definition of "anything" to only mean those things where I have control over the conditions.

I think a better phrase is this: You have no idea how much you can accomplish if you just put your mind to it.

I like this phrase because it's open-ended, leaving the listener to consider all the possibilities. It also sounds progressive. There is always something more that you are capable of. It pushes them toward the "anything" that the previous phrase announces, but doesn't leave the person disappointed when they realize that they can't do "anything."

And as for jumping off of houses with trash bags...well...I gave that up for jumping off of higher things attached to bungie cords. I just changed the conditions. It worked a lot better and was a lot more fun.

Latest In The Wendy's Chili Finger Scandal

About a month ago, I posted about a woman who was sueing Wendy's because she claimed that she found a finger in her bowl of chili. Since then, there's been new evidence to show that she actually planted the finger in the bowl of chili herself. Read this off of CNN today...

CNN.com - Chili finger used to settle debt, mother says - May 18, 2005: "Chili finger used to settle debt, mother says

Wednesday, May 18, 2005 Posted: 1:02 PM EDT (1702 GMT)

SAN JOSE, California (AP) -- A man who lost part of his finger in a workplace accident was the source of the fingertip used in an alleged scam against Wendy's restaurants, and gave it away to settle a debt, his mother said.

'My son is the victim in this,' Brenda Shouey said in an interview published in Wednesday's San Francisco Chronicle. 'I believe he got caught in something, and he didn't understand what was going on.'

Anna Ayala, 39, was arrested April 21 at her Las Vegas home on suspicion of attempted grand theft for allegedly costing Wendy's millions of dollars in a plot to shake down the company by claiming she found the finger in a bowl of chili in a restaurant in San Jose."

Looks like Anna is coming up just a digit short and a dollar shy.